Our Street and Wall Street

Scary! Since I’m faced with the evidence of it, I guess I should write about my attack and wounding by a local cat. There is a 3-legged neighborhood cat around and I see him now and then in the garage or out in front. He’s always been very friendly, coming over to me without hesitation and wanting his ears scratched. The usual cat behavior. And I’ve always admired how he gets along with just 3 legs. He’s a very fit cat.

I had walked out into the garage because I had heard a cat out there and wondered what was going on. OK, it was just the 3-legged kitty and so I reached down to pet him. Of course he loved it and indicated that he wanted me to continue and so I did. Then I rearranged some stuff on my workbench. The cat was still hanging around by my feet and so I bent down to scratch his ears once more. That was when he attacked. Whoa! He sank his teeth into my arm and scratched me as well. He was just a blur! Now I had 4 very large puncture wounds in my forearm and some minor scratches.

I quickly went into the house and we cleaned the wounds while Laurae called the Animal Control offices, hoping that they were open on Sunday. They were of course, as they’re part of the sheriff’s department. Then I went back outside to see if I could spot the cat. There he was, lolling on the driveway as if nothing had happened and watching me. I grabbed some cat food and put it in a bowl for him, hoping to keep him around till the sheriff arrived. He did stick around long enough to empty the bowl and then strolled away…well; he strolled as well as a 3-legged cat can stroll.

I knew where the cat had his headquarters’, a house just down the road and that’s what I told the deputy when he arrived. He checked it out and came back to tell me that the owners had a current vaccination report for the cat and he would verify that for me. And the cat would be placed in quarantine for ten days. That took care of my immediate worries; as the old barn next door to us is a haven for hundreds of bats. And bats can have rabies and the neighborhood cats love to hunt in that same barn. It’s not a good combination. Although, I do love having the bats living there as they keep the mosquito population in check.

You have to know that that cat is not getting his ears scratched around here anymore. And no more free food!

And on another note; I don’t think I want to see the Dow Jones figures this morning. It’s been a busy weekend with lots of failures in the world of high finance and I think that will be reflected in the numbers at the opening bell. Don’t you just love these people?